San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Barry Zito (9-16) avoided getting his major league leading 17th loss with a four-hit eight inning performance against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field in Denver on September 3, 2008. (UPI Photo/Gary C. Caskey)

Barry Zito (born May 13, 1978) is a Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher for the San Francisco Giants. He previously played seven seasons with the Oakland Athletics, where he won the 2002 American League Cy Young Award and made three All-Star teams.

Zito never missed a scheduled start in his career until 2008, and led the American League in starts four times. After the 2006 season, Zito signed the most expensive contract in history for a pitcher at the time. Zito is well known for the drastic difference between his pre- and post- All Star Game pitching performance, and has been one of the greatest second half pitchers in MLB history throughout his career. He has also proven to be one of the greatest front running pitchers in recent memory, holding a record of 111-6 when getting at least 4 runs of support.

Zito played collegiately at UC Santa Barbara, Los Angeles Pierce College, and the University of Southern California. In the 1999 draft, he was drafted by the Oakland Athletics with the ninth pick of the first round. Zito is known for his idiosyncrasies, and his offbeat personality. He created the charity Strikeouts for Troops which provides money to hospitals for soldiers wounded in military operations.

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